The men belonged to what officials called an ‘organised crime group’ that recruited dozens of European women into sham marriages. The arrests were carried out following the investigation by Belgian authorities and the Portuguese Immigration and Borders Service.
LONDON – Across-Europe investigation into men entering into bogus marriages for immigration purposes has led to the arrest of 17 Pakistan citizens, officials of European agencies Europol and Eurojust announced on Tuesday.
The men belonged to what officials called an ‘organised crime group’ that recruited dozens of European women into sham marriages. The arrests were carried out following the investigation by Belgian authorities and the Portuguese Immigration and Borders Service.
“The criminal group was involved in the facilitation of illegal immigration by organising sham marriages, predominately between Portuguese and Pakistani nationals. Portuguese women were recruited to marry Pakistani men they had never met,” Europol said.
“In return, the women received a cash payment of thousands of euros. The couples then travelled to Belgium, where the wives were soon employed by (allegedly bogus) Belgian companies.”
By purchasing shares in the companies, the husbands were permitted to stay in the European Union, obtain resident permits and then illegally profit from social and other benefits.
The shares were later transferred between the wives, allowing new recruits to become partners of the companies. The women usually travelled back to Portugal, and would occasionally return to Belgium for police and immigration checks, European officials said.
The investigation started in Belgium in 2015 when authorities discovered a suspicious increase in the number of mixed marriage certificates in Ieper, Belgium. Criminal groups chose small municipalities to commit their crimes in, making perpetrators difficult to detect and prosecute, the officials added.
